Regardless of how much stock you put in climate predictions, there are increasing pressures and incentives to measure and reduce organisational carbon emissions, including grants to support innovation and energy efficiency, steadily rising energy prices, Government requirements on reporting like SECR, ESOS, TCFD and PPN06/21 and customer, investor and staff demand to demonstrate action.

So organizations are tasked with finding efficient ways to track, manage, and ultimately reduce their carbon footprints. Two common approaches are using carbon accounting software and hiring carbon consultants.

Both have their merits, but which is the better fit for your business?

Carbon Accounting Software: Automation and Scalability

Carbon accounting software has surged in popularity as it offers businesses a streamlined, automated way to track their carbon emissions across different areas—energy usage, waste production, transportation, and supply chain operations.

Advantages:

• Efficiency & Automation: With cloud-based platforms, carbon accounting software can automatically pull data from various systems, saving time and reducing human error. This is particularly useful for businesses that operate across multiple sites or geographies, allowing them to easily consolidate information into a single platform.

• Scalability: For large corporations or businesses looking to scale their sustainability efforts quickly, carbon accounting software can be a vital tool. It can handle large volumes of data and provide standardized reporting for different operational areas.

• Cost-effective for Routine Monitoring: For businesses looking to regularly monitor their emissions and ensure compliance with reporting standards like the GHG Protocol, software is typically more cost-effective in the long run.

• Actionable Insights: Some platforms offer advanced analytics, allowing companies to break down emissions by source and identify the areas where the greatest improvements can be made.

Challenges:

• Generic Recommendations: While software can provide data and even some basic suggestions on energy efficiency or carbon reduction, its insights are often generic. This means it might not be equipped to provide the in-depth, tailored guidance that is essential for meaningful action.

• Errors: automatically assigning emissions categories and factors to activities is likely to introduce inaccuracy, especially with spend-based data or where organisations have data held in many different formats, where an expert consultant can make better judgements

• Learning Curve: Even with intuitive designs, these tools require users to have a good understanding of emissions calculations and sustainability metrics to make the most of the data.

Carbon Consultants: Expertise and Tailored Solutions

Carbon consultants bring expertise, personalized analysis, and strategy to the table. Unlike software, which is data-driven, consultants combine data with industry knowledge and experience to provide bespoke sustainability solutions.

Advantages:

• Tailored Insights & Strategy: Carbon consultants can offer nuanced advice, deeply analyzing your organization’s unique processes, supply chains, and operational context. This personalized approach results in actionable insights that are specifically designed for your business, taking into account industry-specific challenges and opportunities.

• Holistic Support: Beyond carbon accounting, consultants often provide a more holistic sustainability service. They can help craft sustainability strategies, engage stakeholders, and even manage internal communications around carbon reduction efforts.

• Regulatory Expertise: Consultants can help navigate complex regulatory environments, ensuring compliance with evolving carbon legislation and reporting frameworks.

• Guidance for Long-term Sustainability Goals: Many companies, particularly those that are just beginning their sustainability journey, benefit from having a consultant shape long-term goals and develop a roadmap that’s more realistic and effective than relying solely on software.

Challenges:

• Higher Initial Costs: Hiring a consultant may incur a larger upfront investment, especially for small or medium-sized businesses. However, this cost can be offset by the potential for larger emissions reductions and more strategic actions that consultants can help identify.

• Limited Scalability: A consultant’s time is finite. Large, multinational corporations with complex operations might find it challenging to rely on consultants alone for emissions tracking, particularly for ongoing reporting.

Which One is Right for You?

The decision between carbon accounting software and carbon consultants comes down to your organization’s specific needs, resources, and sustainability goals.

• For small to medium-sized organizations, software may be the best choice for day-to-day tracking and reporting, while consultants could be used for developing an initial strategy or tackling complex projects, such as reducing emissions from supply chains.

• For large organizations with diverse operations, a hybrid approach might work best. Carbon accounting software can handle routine emissions tracking and compliance reporting, while consultants can provide the strategic guidance needed to make significant reductions.

• Ultimately, companies should assess their internal capacity and long-term goals when making this choice. A company’s carbon journey is rarely static, and using a combination of both software and consultants could provide the right balance of efficiency and expertise, ensuring that emission reductions translate into meaningful actions.

Conclusion

Both carbon accounting software and carbon consultants offer unique benefits for understanding and reducing corporate emissions. Software excels in automation, scalability, and cost-effectiveness, while consultants provide tailored insights and strategic guidance. For businesses serious about making substantial carbon reductions, the most effective approach often involves leveraging both tools in a complementary manner.

By choosing the right combination for your business, you can not only track and report your emissions more effectively but also turn this data into impactful actions that drive meaningful change.

At Greener Energy Futures, we provide clients with access to both clever software and expert advice to help tailor your approach.

Please get in touch and we’ll be delighted to advise on how to get you on track to Net Zero.